Which Riding School for Children?

Choosing the right riding school for children is not that easy. After all, the children should learn to ride properly there, so they need qualified lessons and well-trained horses. In addition, of course, the horses should be fine there too.

The Riding Instructor

The riding instructor for your children needs appropriate training. This can be an apprenticeship from the FN (German Equestrian Association): professional riders train to become a horse managers and for people with other professions there is training to become a trainer.

There are also other training courses that qualify a riding instructor, such as the Hippolini training, especially for smaller children. It is based on Montessori pedagogy.

If you are looking for a suitable children’s riding school, ask the riding instructor there in advance what training he has. Children in particular benefit from a riding instructor with pedagogical training.

Not Too Much

So that the riding instructor can teach the children something, he shouldn’t teach too many riding students at once. A group of three or four riders is ideal. Individual lessons are very instructive, but of course also significantly more expensive. Take a look at the lessons at your riding stable beforehand and make sure that all students are comfortable and that the tone is friendly.

What is Part of It?

When choosing a riding school, what your child should learn is also very important:

• Does it already have previous experience or would it like to find out more about horses?
• Can it clean and saddle a horse on its own?

After all, there is much more to learning to ride than just riding. Understanding horses is just as important! So feel free to ask beforehand whether the children will also learn something about horses in the riding school. Perhaps there are extra theory lessons or the common grooming and saddling of the horse is part of the lesson. Some riding instructors explain exactly what the riding students need to know when riding, while others only give brief commands.

If you take a look at the lessons beforehand or arrange a trial lesson, you can see very quickly whether this riding school suits you and your child!

To Start With, Please With a School Horse

A school horse is a good choice for the first attempts at riding. A novice rider needs a particularly good horse that is properly trained at the same time.

The requirements for good school horses are high:

• The horse should not be too scared and forgive small mistakes, but also not so insensitive that the little riders cannot learn to give help at all.
• The horse should react sensitively to the first correct aids, but at the same time not react incorrectly if the child makes a mistake.

It’s not that easy for the horse! A good school horse must therefore be regularly “corrected” by experienced riders, as the saying goes. It must therefore be possible to be ridden with the correct aids so that beginners do not get used to mistakes.

• That a school horse has to be friendly and fearless when dealing with children is of course also part of it. After all, the little ones shouldn’t be exposed to any danger when cleaning and saddling the horse.

Nevertheless, no matter how good the horse is, there should always be a competent adult nearby – this is another hallmark of a good riding school for children!

Please Kindly

Of course, the school horses in the riding school should always be kept well and appropriately. You are not allowed to stand locked in narrow boxes all day but also come out onto the meadow or onto the paddock. Regular contact with other horses and free running is important. This is the only way a school horse can do its “job” in a balanced way.

Suitable saddles for the school horse should also be a matter of course. If the school horse has wounds or looks sick, you should avoid this stable or at least speak to the riding instructor about it. Sometimes there are also reasons why something doesn’t look so great at the moment: a horse with sweet itch may have chafing marks on its mane, for example. But these should be looked after and taken care of.

In addition, the horses’ hooves must be cared for. The farrier must replace rattling horseshoes as soon as possible. If in doubt, speak to the riding instructor about your observations.

If auxiliary reins are used on your children’s school horse, make sure that they are only buckled when the horse has warmed up and that it can stretch after the lesson. Auxiliary reins such as reins help the horse to run in the correct position and not to push them back as long as the little rider cannot give proper help, but they should not be strapped in all the time.